30 APR 07 / "The Right Immigrants"

It appears that Congress will once again take up the immigration issue in May. Members of the Bush administration, led by Florida Senator Mel Martinez, are currently trying to reach accommodation with conservatives in Congress.

Unfortunately, the reforms that are ultimately agreed to this year may prove too draconian for the illegal immigrants in the United States. For example, the visa fees illegal immigrants would be required to pay could be in excess of a thousand dollars per year.

If demography is destiny as Mark Steyn rightly asserts in his book "America Alone", then the United States would do well to officially welcome the vast majority of its immigrants, especially those from Latin America.

Rather than categorizing Brasilian, Venezuelan, and Costa Rican immigrants that as OTM's Other Than Mexicans -- we should be rejoicing that they are Other Than Muslim.

Islam, from its origins in the 7th century, has been a religion of conquest, not of peace. The precepts of Islam are fundamentally at odds with the freedoms delineated in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. We will not sacrifice American principles to the Muslim creed. We shouldn't be deporting factory workers from Mexico. We should be deporting radical Islamists -- including American citizens -- who seek to deny future generations of Americans their natural rights.

Immigrants from Central and South America contribute to a stable society. They are not terrorists or enablers of terrorism. They stoke the American economic engine. They are entrepreneurial and family-oriented. Indeed, many native born Americans would do well to emulate their own work ethic. If we make an obligation to them by passing immigration reform, they must make an obligation to us. Assimilation and education should be the bywords. Immigrants and their children should learn English and U.S. history.

If members of Congress continue to be cowed by the anti-amnesty crowd, the unity of the country will be threatened. Our national motto E Pluribus Unum should still mean what it was intended to mean in 1776. And since conservatism is about staying true to the principles that made this country great, conservatives should look beyond the superficial false arguments against immigration and see the real value immigrants provide to our society.